Bird flu could be major problem for Africa, By Laurie Goering
Published February 16, 2006, 6:30 PM CST

JOHANNESBURG -- Bird flu has spread to Africa, and experts fear that containing it will be a major problem on a continent where backyard chickens are the norm, health infrastructure is weak and many governments have little in the way of funding or plans to deal with an avian flu outbreak.

In northern Nigeria, where a deadly strain of bird flu began killing chickens this month, cheap chicken has flooded local meat markets, local media report. Poultry farm workers, faced with thousands of dead birds, are working without protective gear to toss them onto open fires. Farmers, not yet certain what government compensation they will receive, remain reluctant to report dying birds.

"If the situation in Nigeria gets out of control, it will have a devastating impact on the poultry population in the region, it will seriously damage the livelihoods of millions of people and it will increase the exposure of humans to the virus," warned Samuel Jutzi, director of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, which has rushed experts to Nigeria to try to contain the outbreak there.